Warm Springs are for Healing: Montana's Hospital for the Insane
| Dates: | October 11, 2018 |
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| Meets: | Th from 4:15 PM to 8:30 PM (optional MOR Tour 4:15 - 5 p.m.) |
| Location: | Museum of the Rockies |
| Cost: | $35.00 |
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The Museum of the Rockies (MOR), the Extreme History Project (EHP), and the Yellowstone Writing Project (YWP) have partnered to offer educators a unique opportunity to earn 3 OPI renewal units. Participants will be encouraged to attend an optional self-guided tour of the museum before registration. Starting at 5:30 p.m. we will learn about available museum resources, listen to the feature lecture, and discuss potential classroom applications over light refreshments.
Since its establishment in 1875, the campus at Warm Springs has been put to use towards the palliative treatment of Montana's insane population. The supervisors transformed what had been a health resort into a hospital dedicated to the care of the "mentally deficient wards" of the state. The changes to the campus reflect the changing trends in mental health care over the years. This was evident in the type, style, and size of buildings. The buildings were like those of many other state institutions - colleges, universities, institute for the deaf and dumb, etc. - and designed by many of the same architects.
Warm Springs was, however, more comprehensive in that it also was self-sufficient for much of its history, with manufacturing and farming considered part of the care for the insane. Work programs were part of the rehabilitation therapy until the 1960s, when they were considered a form of abuse. These programs provided Warm Springs with concrete block and construction thereof, milk, eggs, grains, vegetables, and meat. The property also has a cemetery. The bucolic setting was typical of state mental institutions, yet has the added distinction of being based at the Warm Springs Mound, a calcite geothermal formation like that of the Elephant Mound in Mammoth Hot Springs of Yellowstone National Park. This mound was earlier a sacred site for the indigenous population and is now again respected (as a restricted National Register property) for its significance to the many Native American tribes who used the area during late prehistoric and historic times. The perceived curative effect of the thermal properties was the basis for locating first the resort and then the hospital there. Originally, the 180-degree water was distributed to all the hospital buildings.
The Warm Springs hospital still focuses - in reduced capacity since distributed clinical care was instituted in the 1960s - on individualized recovery programs to help patients transition back into to the community. The hospital has served the state for over 140 years and remains the only public psychiatric hospital in the state.
Since its establishment in 1875, the campus at Warm Springs has been put to use towards the palliative treatment of Montana's insane population. The supervisors transformed what had been a health resort into a hospital dedicated to the care of the "mentally deficient wards" of the state. The changes to the campus reflect the changing trends in mental health care over the years. This was evident in the type, style, and size of buildings. The buildings were like those of many other state institutions - colleges, universities, institute for the deaf and dumb, etc. - and designed by many of the same architects.
Warm Springs was, however, more comprehensive in that it also was self-sufficient for much of its history, with manufacturing and farming considered part of the care for the insane. Work programs were part of the rehabilitation therapy until the 1960s, when they were considered a form of abuse. These programs provided Warm Springs with concrete block and construction thereof, milk, eggs, grains, vegetables, and meat. The property also has a cemetery. The bucolic setting was typical of state mental institutions, yet has the added distinction of being based at the Warm Springs Mound, a calcite geothermal formation like that of the Elephant Mound in Mammoth Hot Springs of Yellowstone National Park. This mound was earlier a sacred site for the indigenous population and is now again respected (as a restricted National Register property) for its significance to the many Native American tribes who used the area during late prehistoric and historic times. The perceived curative effect of the thermal properties was the basis for locating first the resort and then the hospital there. Originally, the 180-degree water was distributed to all the hospital buildings.
The Warm Springs hospital still focuses - in reduced capacity since distributed clinical care was instituted in the 1960s - on individualized recovery programs to help patients transition back into to the community. The hospital has served the state for over 140 years and remains the only public psychiatric hospital in the state.
| Fee: | $35.00 |
Museum of the Rockies
600 W Kagy Blvd, Bozeman, MT 59717Lesley Gilmore
Lesley M. Gilmore is Director of Historic Preservation Services for CTA Architects Engineers, a multi-disciplinary firm with offices in Montana and the Rocky Mountain West. She is a licensed architect with over 30 years of experience in historic preservation, and an interest in the use of historic properties over time.Lesley has been an active board member of the Association for Preservation Technology, the Montana Historic Preservation Board, and the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board, and is a current board member of the Montana Preservation Alliance and the Extreme History Project.
From 2013 through 2015, she led the state's documentation of the 28 remaining heritage buildings at Warm Springs State Hospital. This mental health hospital has been altered extensively over the years to reflect the changes in the treatment of mental health, thus currently has few buildings remaining from its most active period.
Participants will receive 3 OPI Renewal Units